The Weekly Freeporter

This blog is dedicated to spreading news and information regarding the Village of Freeport, of New York. It is a nonpartisan, private-enterprise creation that aims to keep Village Residents in the loop. If you have any story leads or suggestions, feel free to contact its editor, Jesse Pohlman!

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Monday, April 20, 2020

Progress on the CoVID disaster has reportedly been pretty steadily improving, with NYS Senator Anna Kaplan citing ever-shrinking hospitalization numbers, specifically due to actions New Yorkers have takenregarding Social Distancing. Please make no mistake - it is only due to our collective (relatively...) early action on reacting to the virus that has kept the number of deaths relatively stable, and preserved (most of) our health-care system.

But make no mistake - those who I've spoken to in the medical field have compared the fallout of the CoVID disaster to a "War-zone," and I have no reason to doubt them. As every blinking Highway sign says, "Stay home, save lives." After all, the less people who are admitted to the hospital, the less that doctors, nurses, and care-staff are exposed to the disease.

This is also a short update to signal-boost Nassau Executive Laura Curran's information about testing being expanded to Hempstead and Freeport residents, citizen-or-non. See the below flyer for more information, and if you have CoVID symptoms don't hesitate to schedule an appointment to be tested.

Best wishes, and stay safe. Only go out when necessary, and stay socially distant!

Then again, depending on when you are reading this, you may or may not have been deemed an "Essential" worker, and your job status may be on a day-to-day basis.

So, there isn't really that much by way of hyperlocal 'news' that isn't being documented more regularly. This message is just to say you aren't alone in feeling anxious or disoriented. These are complicated times. The important coda is that we will get through this, together.

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Opening note - these may be the strangest times since the end of 2012, huh?

Moving on.

Nassau Executive Curran Orders Nassau County Schools Closed

This is an expansion of Freeport's pre-existing announcement, recorded here, both beyond the 3/16-17 closure, and beyond the local scale. This is a two-week closure, though staff is permitted to use the facilities for distance learning purposes and others, and it doesn't apply to certain schools for people with special needs. As always, please check in with your district.

Notice that "Social Distancing" is called for; this is basically just staying in with friends and family; or, at least, not going out to crowded places.

Last, as we've been saying here:

First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you. If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic! (That still includes buying up all of the damned toilet paper! :/ )

Saturday, March 14, 2020

According to the latest Superintendent's message at the Freeport Schools website, schools will be closed 3/16/2020 and 3/17/2020 for students:

"We have decided, in an abundance of precaution, to close the schools for students only on Monday, March 16th and Tuesday March 17thto continue preparations for our contingency plans for communication and E-Learning platforms and other related matters to ensure the continuity of education for our students in the event of an extended closing. During these two days, staff will further solidify our E-Learning platforms. We will continue enhanced building sanitizing protocols including the weekends."

Last, as we've been saying here:

First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you. If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic! (That still includes buying up all of the damned toilet paper! :/ )

Third: As Laura Curran said as part of the above announcement, IF you are healthy and IF you can, please donate some blood. There's apparently a lack of donations going on.

Fourth: As we always say, here:

First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you. If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic! (That includes buying up all of the damned toilet paper! :/ )

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Freeport-Specific Updates from Dr. Kuncham:Nassau County Executive Laura Curran gave a press conference with medical and educational leaders - including Freeport's own Superintendent, Dr. Kishore Kuncham, who spoke about issues regarding the spread of dangerous rumors about the virus' impact. Kuncham also talked reassuringly about the development that's gone on for Freeport's online learning plan, which involves over 6,000 Chromebooks being distributed to students! He even addressed concerns about internet access for possible students. (Starts 16:00 min into the video)

While there are still very few public school district closures in our area (see the above link to Long Island Press for more details!) - and such closures present infinitely different complications, including but not limited to how children would be supervised, and in some case get fed - the risk exists that certain schools may close in the future due to a confirmed case of exposure, or due to a broader outbreak that is uncontainable with lesser measures.

As always, check with your district's website and administration to confirm any changes you hear about online!

To that end: First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you. If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

As 2020 continues to be a banner year for Humankind, I'm hopping back on The Weekly Freeporter strictly in an Emergency Response basis. Please note that this is an ongoing emergency, and that situations change frequently and without warning - and TWF is not a professional outlet, meaning our resources are limited. Updates will be on a limited basis, and only to serve as a place to collect information.

That said, if you have any leads, reach out and we'll verify as best we can!

Additionally, as with our Hurricane Sandy coverage, while we'll focus on Freeport as possible, this disaster effects, well, all of Humankind, so let's start with just keeping an eye on Nassau County.

According to Governor Andrew Cuomo's latest update on Twitter, about 19 people in Nassau have tested positive for Coronavirus. ABC News and others report that the National Guard has been called into Rockland County to help those in quarantine get food and supplies. As more testing takes place, more positives are expected; according to medical professionals I've spoken to, this will help with controlling the outbreak.

To that end: First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you. If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!

Announced Nassau County School District Closures - More detail available from Long Island Press.
Glen CoveLocust ValleyOyster Bay
Plainview-Old BethpageShoream-Wading River

It is reasonable to expect more as time goes on. Additionally, there are many local colleges closed, including Hofstra, Columbia, and Saint John's. As always, please check in with your school's webpage on a daily basis, and/or keep an eye on the alerts sent to your e-mail/cell phone.